External Outreach :Nutrition Specialist (Nutrition Coordination) -P3/NOC, Rapid Response Rosters, Eastern and Southern Africa Region

Mid Senior Crisis & Emergency Response Programme & Policy

Overview

Support nutrition coordination and response in emergencies for UNICEF

You have:

• Advanced university degree in Public Health and Nutrition, Child Development, Water Sanitation, Public Administration, Social Policy, Social Development, Community Development, or other relevant disciplines.
• Five years of professional work experience at the national and international levels in planning, programming, implementation monitoring, and evaluation of technical cooperation programmes related to Health and Nutrition.
• Professional work experience in a managerial position, or a technical expert position in child survival & development, health and nutrition care.
• Developing country work experience or field work experience.
• Background/familiarity with Emergency and work experience on cluster coordination at national or sub-national level.
• Fluency in verbal and written English and/or French. Knowledge of another UN language or local language is an asset.

Contract

This is a P-3 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education. More about P-3 contracts and their salaries.

Seeking external candidates only

Contract Type: Temporary Appointment (TA) or Consultancy

Duration: 3 months to 364 days

Location: Countries based in Eastern and Southern Africa

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, hope

Since two years, countries in the ESA region have experienced an alarming increase in the number of new, or re-emerging humanitarian emergencies, including public health (including Ebola, Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever, yellow fever, wild poliovirus, and Cholera), armed conflicts and natural disasters emergencies.

UNICEF ESAR has prioritized the critical need to support countries to rapidly scale up capacity to prevent, mitigate, and manage ongoing and anticipated emergencies as well as to enhance capacity for preparedness and response to these emergencies.

Purpose

The purpose of this external announcement is to attract suitable Nutrition Specialist (Nutrition Coordination) candidates interested in working in any of the countries within UNICEF's East and Southern Africa region to respond to emergencies for the next 36 months.

The countries within each region are listed on the following website: Where we work | UNICEF

How can you make a difference?

Key activities & duties

1. Strengthens pre-existing sectoral coordination by maintaining appropriate links and dialogue with national and local authorities, local civil society and other relevant actors, respecting their respective mandates and programme priorities. Taking reasonable measures to proactively engage with and support local NGOs to participate in cluster coordination and at each phase of the Humanitarian Programme Cycle. Manages the cluster coordination team.

• Convenes and facilitate regular Nutrition Cluster meetings, ensuring that discussions are participatory and results oriented. Provides strategic leadership to sub-national clusters. Leads efforts to undertake gap analysis, priority setting reinforcing the complementarity of partner actions by avoiding duplication and gaps. Participates in reviews of coordination mechanisms and their adaptation over time to reflect the evolving crisis and the capacities of local actors. Promotes/supports training and capacity building of nutrition sector personnel, of partners and national authorities

• Contribute effectively to inter-cluster coordination forums and cooperate with other clusters, Government counterparts, and relevant authorities (as appropriate) in planning, coordination, and operational activities.

2. Coordinates the development of strategic response plan for the nutrition sector in consultation with government, cluster partners and donors. Establishes the setting up of Strategic Advisory Group. Leads the development of nutrition cluster strategic response plan for HRP and workplan. Facilitates the defining of key priorities for the cluster (programmatic, geographic and population, supports mapping of 4W matrix, and facilitates partner engagements to cover any gaps among the priorities. Develops advocacy strategy for the nutrition sector.

3. Ensures the timely planning and undertaking of needs assessments and analysis to inform appropriate and equitable response to minimize the risk and alleviate the impacts of disasters on affected population. Ensures the development and implementation of needs assessment plan. Facilitates agreement on standard assessment tools and methods for nutrition assessments. Ensures assessment results are analysed, synthesized and shared timely for effective response. Creates a system for cluster to vet and validate assessments, train partners on assessment skills and methods and maintain database of assessments. Ensures the nutrition sector is well represented in intersectoral needs assessments including Initial Needs Assessments. Ensure systems are in place for analysis and triangulation of data from multiple sources including administrative data, and data on key determinants of malnutrition that is collected by other sectors

4. Leads the nutrition cluster resource mobilization efforts, including through active collaboration with pooled fund mechanisms (HRF) where they exist, and regular engagement with UN agencies and donors. Ensures an agreed costing standards are adapted by cluster partners. Develops the nutrition cluster collective budget for a humanitarian response plan. Compile the overall funding levels and gaps and share with stakeholders. Ensures transparent selection process of selecting partners for pooled fund opportunities. Supports and cooperates with partners on common issues such as supply management, human resources, etc.

• Advocates with HCT and other platforms for allocation of resources for nutrition preparedness, response and recovery actions. Represents the interests of the Nutrition Cluster in discussions with stakeholders on priorities, resource mobilization and advocacy. Taking additional steps to ensure that the resource mobilization and advocacy efforts fairly represents and benefits NGOs as well as the UN agencies in support of the agreed nutrition cluster strategy

5. Ensure appropriate mechanisms are in place to allow timely monitoring of the implementation of the humanitarian response actions, including accountability to affected population. Ensures the development of monitoring and evaluation framework. Ensures availability of the latest country specific technical guidance for the nutrition cluster members. Develops regular reporting system for nutrition cluster aligned with the national systems as well as the humanitarian reporting requirements

• Ensuring adequate reporting and effective information sharing, reflecting the agreed minimum standards are in place and that all partners contribute on a regular basis to enable appropriate monitoring and evaluation and review the impact of the cluster activities and progress against the strategic Nutrition Cluster objectives

6. Ensure minimum preparedness actions are determined and appropriate plans and resources are in place for early response against anticipated humanitarian emergencies.

• Ensure adequate contingency planning and preparedness for new emergencies and seasonal adaptation of responses that reflect the actual and potential to scale-up capacities of all partners (local and international)

7. Ensure protection, disability and early recovery are mainstreamed and awareness of the different needs and capacities of women, girls, boys and men of all ages, people with disabilities, and other diversity characteristics such as ethnicity and religion are informing what we do, how we do it and with whom to promote meaningful access, safety and dignity in all phases of the nutrition sector response

8. Coordinate and support operational peer reviews, evaluations, and real-time learning/evaluation actions for the nutrition sector.

9. Other assigned duties and responsibilities are effectively accomplished

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Education-

• • Advanced university degree in Public Health and Nutrition, Child Development, Water Sanitation, Public Administration, Social Policy, Social Development, Community Development, or other relevant disciplines.

Work Experience-

• Five years of professional work experience at the national and international levels in planning, programming, implementation monitoring and evaluation of technical cooperation programmes related to Health and Nutrition. Professional work experience in a managerial position, or a technical expert position in child survival & development, health and nutrition care.
• Developing country work experience (for IP) or field work experience (for NO)
• Background/familiarity with Emergency. Work experience on cluster coordination at national or sub-national level

Language Requirement:-

• Fluency in verbal and written English and/or French (depending on the country office's official language). Knowledge of another UN language or a local language is an asset

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: https://uni.cf/UNICEFValues

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)

• Works Collaboratively with others (1)

• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)

• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)

• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)

• Drive to achieve impactful results (1)

• Manages ambiguity and complexity(1)

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children.

The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children.

All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

Apply now

Potential interview questions

Added 3 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org